This invention relates generally to the configuration of memory within a computer system and more particularly to maintaining the integrity of data stored within the memory prior to configuration once configuration of the memory is completed.
As is known in the art, a memory configuration is typically performed before the computer system has stored any information in memory. By performing the configuration before memory is used, there is no danger of readdressing the data in memory and thus making it difficult if not impossible to access.
Memory configuration is usually performed before the memory is used during initialization of the computer system. Typically, the software used to perform the configuration is stored in and executed from the Read Only Memory (ROM) or it is loaded into cache and executed before any information is stored in the memory itself. In this way, the memory configuration does not readdress the data stored in memory thus making it impossible to access under the new configuration without causing an error condition.
As computer systems have become more complex and the memory configuration and initialization software has become correspondingly more complex however, the cache memory within computer systems is too small to fit all of the software needed to perform the configuration and initialization. As a result other solutions have had to be addressed which permit these lengthy and complex software solutions to be stored and executed to effectuate the configuration of memory as well as the initialization of the computer system. What is needed is a solution which will allow the memory of the system to be used in a simple configuration to store the initialization and reconfiguration software prior to the memory being reconfigured to the final and more complex configuration.